Italy beat Belgium 2-1 in the second match of Group A of the Davis Cup Finals, which will be played until Sunday at the Unipol Arena in Bologna. The decisive point for the Azzurri was given by the doubles pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori who overcame the Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in two sets 7-6, 7-5.
In the first singles, that of the numbers two of the respective teams, Matteo Berrettini, n.43 ATP, defeated Alexander Blockx in a comeback(253), at his absolute debut in Davis, in three sets with the score of 3-6 6-2 7-5.
In the second singles of the day, Flavio Cobolli was defeated in three sets by Zizou Bergs who won with a score of 6-3 6-7 6-0, gaining the point of 1-1.
Volandri preaches calm
“Feet on the ground and pedal: we’ve won two challenges and we still haven’t qualified”. Interviewed by Sky Sport, the coach of the Italian Davis Cup tennis team invites calm after winning the second challenge with Belgium after the one won on Wednesday against Brazil. It’s hard to imagine this Italy out of the Final Eight, but a defeat against Holland would open up worrying scenarios: if Italy loses 3 sets to 0, it advances only if Brazil beats Belgium; if it loses 2 sets to 1 against Holland, it is qualified unless Belgium wins 3-0 against Brazil. Summing up the challenge with Belgium won today, Volandri compliments Matteo Berrettini: “It’s difficult to go on court without knowing your opponent – he says – today Matteo was good. In the end he put his heart into it”. As for Flavio Cobolli, defeated in his Davis debut, the coach had only compliments: «Playing an indoor match with Bergs is difficult for anyone – he explains – in the second set Cobolli was very good. From the third set instead he can learn a lot: he had a chance in the first game when it was 15-40, then he wasted another break point. It’s normal to have a decline».
Luckily, Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori got us out of trouble, after the insignificant defeat against Brazil, giving us the all-important point. “The doubles team played the important moments better today than Brazil, but they deserved it against Brazil too,” he explains, “here we played on an incredible level of service.” Matteo Arnaldi will probably return on Sunday as the second singles player alongside Berrettini. “Arnaldi is eligible, but he was eligible today too,” Volandri reveals, “he got a small sprain and could have played today too. But we all have strong players.”
The joy of Berrettini
“I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t enter with the same energy as the other day, but I tried to give my all. Today I didn’t play my best match, but in Davis Cup it’s all about bringing home the result and I’m proud”: this is how Matteo Berrettini commented on the success against Belgian Alexander Blockx, born in 2005, number 253 in the world, speaking to Sky. “I can play and feel better, but the goal was to win – he added – Without the energy of the crowd and my teammates I probably would have lost the match, they deserve all the love. Davis Cup is special”.